The Legend of Zelda: The Hunter's Nightmare
by The Good Life Creator
Summary: He went on a search, hoping to find his friend, instead he found a city trapped in blood and psychosis. This night was going to be the longest as the moon hung low, basking in blood. "Farewell Good Hunter, may you find your worth in the waking world."


**Legend of Zelda: The Hunter's Nightmare**

By The Good Life Creator

 **A/N** : I do not own or claim to own either the Legend of Zelda or Bloodborne franchise. They are owned by Nintendo and Japan Studios respectively.

 **Chapter One: The Nightmare**

 _The city of Hyrule was a promised land, a place of healing blood, sought after by the thousands. Many a man, woman, and child had came to the city bathed in blood to mend the incurable, what modern medicine could not accomplish. That was what my friend had went for, dragging his wife along, in hopes that she could be rid of her ailment._

 _But months had gone by and no word had come from him. It was a simple journey from our forest village of Kokori to the castle city of Hyrule, taking only a couple of days, giving a couple more for their stay. A man that I had served with had gone missing from our small village._

 _So I did what I thought was reasonable thing to do at the time, I went to fetch him, hoping that worst has not came and past over my dear friend Mido._

 _The only problem was that Hyrule wasn't very keen on the idea of letting outsiders in unless necessary or in the pursuit of Paleblood._

 _So my tongue turned silver as I slipped my way into the city that reeked of rotten meat, an unnerving sensation tingling up and down my spine as I passed through to the clinic. This was not the holy city it was made out to be, but a palace of blood, molded into a vile trophy in memory of the wicked hunt of man._

 _A city lost in psychosis._

Link groaned in slight discomfort as he laid down on the gurney, staring at the weathered old man bound to a wheelchair. The old man was garner in a mix of worn leathers and fabrics, a couple buttons missing from his waistcoat, and leather overcoat. A top hat say crooked upon his crown, a thin layer of grey flowing from underneath it.. "If it's Paleblood you seek, you have come to the right place, lad. Hyrule Hurley is the home of the fabled blood ministration."

The old man coughed a bit as he leaned forward, his face moving closer to Link's. Aged, sullied bandages covered the man's eyes, giving the Kokori soldier a feeling of unease. Was this man really blind? "But how would an outsider go about obtaining such a remedy for the incurable? With a bit of Hylian blood you should have no problems with your acquisition. We just have to finalize the contract. Now tell me, young man, what is your name and occupation?"

"Link Sheppard, former soldier of the Kokori Forrest." He didn't understand why he gave his name so easy, something that went against everything he was taught while on the field. Something about the withered old man had sparked compliance in the foreign man.

"A Kokori soldier, eh? Then you know your way around a blade and gun. That is a skill you will come to appreciate, lad. Now, after the transfusion is complete, you will come to think of it all as a nightmare."

A sting broke upon the skin, digging through to Link's veins as the old man injected him with a vile of red, viscous fluid. Pain erupted, his bones shaking to crawl out of his body. His muscles spasmed as the old man cackled. Darkness finally encompassed Link as the pain grew too much.

Everything just fell to the abyss as visions of a beast crawling from blood enthralled his memory. It was a beast of nightmare on with matted fur and yellow eyes. It's clawed hands reached out for him, it's breath reeking of rotten flesh. Then it howled in pain, flailing about as fire licked the body and reduced it to ash. Creatures of wood started to scamper about, surrounding Link, crawling their way over his body, peering into his eyes with leafed faces.

Then all went black again.

 _ **01234567890**_

Link didn't feel like it had been that long since the creatures invaded the clinic and his personal space. Looking around, he found himself alone, the old man and the beasts and odd little tree folk long gone. Was that experience the nightmare or did it ever really happen? Was it all an illusion?

A groan slipped out as he inspected the rest of the room, hoping to find something that would explain all of what happened to him or the whereabouts of Mido. The clinic was in disarray, the old wood floor creaking and moaning under his weight. Medical equipment splayed across the deck and on rusty metal trays, broken glass littered all about.

Then his eyes caught the sight of a note. _**Search for Paleblood**_. A simple set of words wrote in a hasty fashion, ink blotting at the beginning and end of every text. Was it the old man that wrote it?

"Only one way to go," Link spoke to himself, opening the door that led to the rest of the clinic. Everything inside got progressively worse as he stepped forward, descending down the stairs. The wooden floors caved in slightly revealing beams and cobblestone foundation, more and more various medical equipment thrown about, the stench of blood and flesh impregnated the air. He could hear snarling, teeth gnashing at something wet and fleshy.

As Link moved into the sickbay, he could see a beast similar to the one that attacked him in his dreams, eating and lapping away at a few bits of meat and blood that pooled in front of it. The more he stated at it, the more the monster looked similar to the legendary wolfos, a wolf-like snout and sharp teeth making up it's face, matted fur with rags making up the wolf-man like body. As he looked at the rags, they appeared to be the remains of clothes.

This thing was once Hylian with a future, something to hope for as he got up in the morning What had happened to it? What happened to this place?

Something else struck out as notary to Link. Blotches of burnt flesh and fur covered the thing. This was the same beast from his nightmare, but How? He watched the wolfos burn into nothing more than ash, howling in great pain. Yet it stood before him, guarding the only way out behind it.

Then the thing noticed Link, snarling and howling at the young man as it walked in all fours, muscles tending for the great lunge. Steely blue eyes me the gaze of monstrous yellow as Link prepared to fight of the beast with bare hands. He doubted that he would be able to survive without something to defend himself with.

"Only one way out now."

The beast lunged forward, claws stretched out, maw opened wide. Link stepped back, cocking his fist back and sending hat the wolfos's face. He made the mark, flesh smacking against fur in a resounding thud. But the monster made no movement in pain.

All Link succeeded in was making the beast aggravated. With a mighty roar, the creature made a wild swing, scratching away at Link's clothes, tearing into his flesh as he stepped back. Ducking another strike, the man made a few of his own, yielding the same results as before.

Did this thing even feel pain? Was it even possible to fell this monstrosity?

Pain wracked through the body as the nightmarish thing drug it's claws into the young man. Link howled in pain as he was lifted into the air. Link crashed against the wooden floor, splinters dug into his back, the woflos's jaws clamped around his neck. All Link knew of the world as he slipped into the cold grasp of Death was anguish.

 _ **01234567890**_

Link groaned as he awoke, the feeling of pain gone. The air seemed moist, almost serene with a deathly calm surrounding the area. Waking up in strange places had got to stop being a thing. Taking a quick look at his surroundings as he clambered to his feet, the area around him appeared to be that of a cemetery high in the mountains with old markers crumbling from years of erosion, aged oaks and willows reaching towards the sky, mist hanging low in the air, touching the earth beneath him.

How did he end up here?

The path before him led up to a stone and wood shack. As he walked forward the wooden creatures sprang forth, running about and standing in front of the man, holding various blades and guns. _**"Arm yourself."**_

Link spun wildly around, searching for the voice. The wooden creatures couldn't have spoken, all their words unintelligible grunts and groans. No, the voice undeniably a female Hylian. But as he looked about all he could find was a life size doll with snow white textures for skin and pale blonde hair, garbed in a royal purple dress baring the Hyrulian eagle crowned by three triangles. He couldn't help but believe that the doll was watching him with empty eyes.

" _ **Arm yourself, good hunter, so that you may find your worth in the waking world."**_

Link nodded as he stepped forward, standing before the wooden creatures. His hand brushed over the hilts of various weapons, all wrapped in stained, tattered bandages. One was a cane, simple and elegant, another was something resembling a folder cleave with a serrated edge, and the one that spoke to him was an axe of brutal design with a spiked tip and a large blade. Getting it in the air, Link admired the heavy weight, swinging it in the air a couple times.

It was different than the sword he used on the field, a shining silver blade forged in the forest, practically weightless in his hands, but something about the hefty axe had called to him.

His thumb felt something strange as he swung the thing through air once more. Depressing the switch he felt the hilt extend, making the brutal weapon something akin to an executioner's blade. "That's new," he spoke to no one in particular, swinging it around a bit more. This would definitely take some getting used to.

The next gift was a choice between two firearms, a simple pistol with a dark wood grip and an etched barrel and a wicked blunderbuss with a heavy wood and darkened metal frame and a flared metal barrel. Grasping the pistol, he took a better look at it, finding it easy to reload from folding the butt and the barrel apart. He aimed it quickly and fired a couple slugs into a tree. The thing was fast, easy to handle and fired in quick succession.

The final gift he received was an aged journal, filled with writings and drawings about a multitude of subjects pertaining to the Castle City of Hyrule and the plague that washed over it.

"Now how do I get out of here," Link spoke to himself, searching for an exit.

" _ **Send your regards to the monument of your waking body."**_

He saw it standing before him, a marker standing before the doll, his name etched into it, a plethora of wooden creatures groaning as they came forth from the ground. "Send my regards, eh?" Link knelt before the headstone, reaching out his hand to touch the stone. The world became blurry, colors washing together as he listened to the words of the disembodied voice.

" _ **Farewell, Good Hunter; may you find your worth in the waking world."**_

 _ **01234567890**_

 _History, Lore, and Creatures Met_

The Castle City of Hyrule met with an ill fate after the discovery of healing blood. It is said that the blood was found after an excursion of the church went wrong, finding what was called the Blood of the Goddess. For a short time, fortune blessed the kingdom, men and women finding themselves cured of disease.

As blood was abundant so was the psychosis. Men went on a rampage, turning into beasts on the hunt for any form of blood to satiate their needs.

At first the church had it isolated, the city people not knowing the horrors that the blood had brought.

Then Old Hyrule fell in a great tragedy.

 _Wolfos_

One of the final stages of the psychosis, Hylian's lose all sight of what makes them mortal, only feeding off of blood. These creatures should be taken with extreme caution, boasting high strength and endurance. Fire makes this beast, like all before it, easier to handle.

 _Forest Children_

Creatures that inhabit the Hunter's Dream, an invaluable tool that have aided countless hunters. Their true design is still unknown but their companionship is still irreplaceable.

 **A/N:** And that wraps it up for the first chapter. I'm actually surprised that this has never been done as it seems to mesh very well together. Now, I am not too happy about the flow of the first chapter but I do hope that it is enjoyable. Please review, I appreciate the criticism.


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